Picture frame

ABSTRACT

A picture frame (1) for carrying a picture (2) or the like, with or without the aid of glass (3) and/or backing (4), the frame (1) including the frame sections (5) kept together at their corner regions (6) by fastening members (7), there also being included pressure members (8) for urging the picture (2) against an edge portion (9) extending as a flange along the frame sections (5). The sections (5) forming the frame (1) may be pulled apart or pushed together a given distance in relation to each other in coaction with fastening members (7) during mounting and/or removal of the picture (1), the pressure members (8) on the sections being stamped out therefrom such as to form tongues (11) bent out from the section in a direction towards a picture (2) carried by the frame (1), these tongues (11) having a length suiting the frame in question such as to retain the picture (2) during mounting as the sections (5) are moved towards each other, while the tongues (11) resiliently urge the picture (2) against the edge portion (9) for positionally fixing it in the frame (1)

The present invention relates to a picture frame for carrying a pictureor the like, with or without the aid of glass and/or backing, andcomprises a frame moulding or section kept together at its corners byfastening means, there also being provided means for pressing thepicture against a continuous edge portion of the section.

On the market today there is a plurality of implementation solutions forpicture frames, all of which are made up in more or less complicatedways for mounting or removing a picture from the frame.

One object of the present invention is to achieve a picture frame, madeup from few parts, and which may be opened using simple manual movementsfor the frontal insertion of a picture without the frame falling apart.When a picture is to be replaced, the frame shall be easy to open andclose up again to its original ready-assembled state, with the framesections pressed together.

Another object of the invention is that the frame shall include meansensuring effective pressure of the mounted picture against a continuousedge portion of the sections forming the frame, such that positivepositional fixation of the picture in the frame is obtained.

With the aid of the invention there has now been achieved a pictureframe complying excellently with the inventive objects, while it isfurthermore both cheap and simple to produce. The distinguishingfeatures of the invention are disclosed in the accompanying claims.

As a result of the invention there has now been obtained a pictureframe, which is no longer burdened with the drawbacks to be found withthose mentioned in the introduction. In addition, the inventive framehas enabled a simple mounting procedure for different types of pictureor other similar items. For insertion of the picture the frame membersare easily pulled away from each other sufficiently for permittinginsertion of the picture from the front. After this the frame memberscan be pushed into mutual contact for positionally fixing the mountedpicture, subsequent to which the fastening means at the corners of theframe are tightened, and the frame is then ready for hanging. Effectivefixation of the picture in the frame is provided by tonguesspring-biassed against the picture and integral with the frame section.

The invention will now be described below in more detail with the aid ofsome preferred embodiment examples, and with reference to theaccompanying drawings, where

FIGS. 1A-C illustrate the inventive picture frame and how it is utilizedin mounting a picture, position A showing the frame without a picture,position B showing the frame pulled apart such as to permit frontalinsertion of a picture, and position C showing the frame in itspushed-together state with a picture mounted in it and the assemblyready for hanging,

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of the frame, and here will be seen thepositions of tongues, which are stamped out of the frame sections, andare intended positionally to fix and retain a picture in the frame,

FIG. 3 is a partial view of a frame section showing an opening stampedout on three sides to form a tongue bent away from the section,

FIG. 4 is a side view of the detail in FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a cross-section of the frame section, including a picturemounted between glass and backing,

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 5, without a mounted picture,

FIG. 7 is a cross-section of the frame section taken between twotongues,

FIG. 8 is a plan of a corner clip,

FIG. 9 is a front view of the clip in FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is a partial front view of the corner of an empty frame, showinga corner clip with its tabs turned down and locked against the framesection,

FIG. 11 is a side view from the front of the detail in FIG. 10,

FIG. 12 is a partial view of the detail in FIGS. 10 and 11, but with thetabs straight and the frame sections pulled apart for insertion of apicture,

FIG. 13 is a side view of the detail shown in FIG. 12,

FIGS. 14a-g are partial views of an alternative means for fastening andpositionally fixing the corner portions of the frame, and

FIGS. 15a-h are partial views of a further alternative means forfastening and positionally fixing the corner portions of the frame.

As will be seen from FIG. 1, the picture frame 1 in accordance with thepresent invention includes, in the illustrated embodiment example, fourframe sections 5 kept together at their corners 6 by fastening means 7.In FIG. 1A the frame is in its pushed-together state and in FIG. 1B itis in its drawn-out state, when a picture 2 may be inserted from thefront. In FIG. 1C the frame is shown in its pushed-together state andwith the mounted picture ready for hanging.

As will be seen in more detail from FIG. 2, the frame 1 includes aplurality of tongues 11 formed as pressure means 8. These are stampedout on three sides from the frame sections 5 at given mutual spacinground the frame, the fourth side of the tongue being integral with theframe section.

As will be seen in more detail from FIGS. 3-7, the frame 1 not onlyincludes the sections 5, held together at corners 6 by fastening means7, but also the tongues 11 formed as pressure means 8 for urging thepicture 2 against a continuous front edge portion 9 of the section 5.FIG. 5 shows how the picture 2, with glass on one side and backing 4 onthe other, is mounted in the section 5. The tongues 11 made in thesections 5 are bent along a folding line 10 in a direction towards apicture 2 carried in the frame 1, and, according to FIG. 5, towards thebacking 4. The tongues are provided with a resilient portion 15, andhave a length suitable to the frame in question, so that spring bias isapplied to the picture 2 or backing 4, such as to positionally fix thepicture 2 against the section edge portion 9.

The figures furthermore illustrate how the frame sections 5 have across-section in an L shape in this embodiment example. At its free end13 the short leg 12 of the L is folded at right angles in a directiontowards the middle of the frame to form the previously mentioned endportion 9. The long leg 14 of the L forms the back of the frame 1 andcontains the tongues 11 stamped out from it at given mutual spacingalong the sections 5 such as to provide uniformly distributed pressureof the picture against the edge portion 9. The tongues 11 may be stampedout and bent away from the leg 14, with their free resilient portions 15directed either transversely or longitudinally in relation to the framesection 5. In the preferred example illustrated in the figures, theresilient portion 15 of the tongues 11 is directed towards the shorterleg 12.

As will be seen in more detail from FIGS. 3 and 4, the free end portion15 of each tongue 11 has a serration 16. There is also a complementaryserration 17 formed in openings 28 in the frame section 5 when thetongue 11 is bent out. Suspension means 18 are thus obtained for thepicture frame 1, and these are intended for coaction with hooks 19', orthe like, affixed to a wall. In the example, illustrated in more detailin FIGS. 5 and 6, the tongue 11 is bent out from the long leg 14 at anangle of 5-45°.To obtain the right amount of force F against the mountedpicture 2 the distance H is less than the thickness T of the picture 2and/or glass 3 together with backing 4. In this example T may varybetween 5 and 10 mm, depending on the type of glass and backing.

The fastening means 7 for keeping together the corner regions 6 of theframe sections may be either corner clips 19, or threaded means 29displaceable in elongate holes 20 in the sections 5, such as to enablepulling apart adjacent sections a distance substantially correspondingto the width of edge portion 9, thus to facilitate quick and easyinsertion of picture 2 from the front, without the sections making upthe frame falling apart.

The corner clips 19 in the preferred example consist of a thin,angularly shaped plate 27 with the long edges flanged, the flanges 21having a height suited to the inside distance between the long side 14and edge portion 9 of the frame sections 5. At its shorter sides, eachremote from a flanged side, the plate is provided with tabs 22, 23extending towards each other and each parallel to its respective remotelong side. These tabs are displaceably accommodated in openings 24, 25in an inner flange 26 disposed at the free end of the long leg 14 of therespective frame section 5, and may be folded down round the long leg 14to lock the frame corner 6.

The appearance of the clip and how it is fitted may be seen in FIGS.8-13.

Two further embodiments of the fastening means 7 for keeping togetherthe frame sections 5 at the corners 6 are shown in FIGS. 14a-g and15a-h. In these two, elongate holes 20 are used, with threaded fasteningmeans 29 displaceable in the frame sections, for enabling pulling apartand pushing together the sections 5 of the picture frame 1.

I claim:
 1. A picture frame for carrying a picture, the picture framecomprising a plurality of frame sections formed with flanges having edgeportions and corners, a fastener structure which mounts the sectionstogether at the corners, the fastener structure comprising a recessedopening formed in at least one of the edge portions which is adjacenteach corner, the fastener structure further comprising at least oneengagement device which is orthogonal with said one edge portion, theengagement device extending into releasable insertion with, and back andforth movement along, the recessed opening, said recessed opening havinga length which enables relative movement of the engagement device alongthe recessed opening through a maximum distance which is sufficient toenable the sections to be manually pulled apart no greater than saiddistance for allowing replacement of the picture into the frame withoutseparation of the frame sections.
 2. Frame as claimed in claim 1,characterized in that said engagement devices comprise a plurality oftongues (11) which are bent out from the frame sections (5) at an angleof 5-45°, from which they are deflectable towards the frame sections (5)when inserting a picture (2) in said frame (1), such as to spring backagain for pressing the picture (2) against the frame edge portion (9).3. A picture frame as in claim 1 in which the engagement devicecomprises a corner clip having a base and at least one tab, said one tabextending orthogonal with the base and into said releasable insertionwith said recessed opening.